five-days before the fiscal cliff and with the house out of town until sunday, the senate majority lead admitted a deal seems unlikely. >> i have to be honest. i don't know time wise how it can happen now. >> reporter: and an attack he point blame on the house speaker for letting members stay home with no deal in sight. > we are here in washington working while the members of the house of representatives are out watching movies, watching the kids play soccer and basketball. he seems to care more about keeping his speaker ship than keeping the nation on firm financial footing. >> reporter: the speaker's office responded, the senator should talk less and legislate more. the house has already passed legislation to avoid the entire fiscal cliff. democrats have not. the president returned to washington today for a last minute push before leaving vacation in hawaii he had separate phone talks with congressional leaders but it's not clear that those talks helps. washington's failure to avoid the cliff threatens to undermine the recovery as americans face big tax hikes, adding to the mess the t